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Xinhua General News Service, China
April 22, 2010 Thursday 1:16 AM EST
Turkey says committed to normalization despite Armenia setback
ANKARA April 22
Turkey on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to efforts to reconcile
with its neighbor Armenia despite a decision by Armenia to suspend the
ratification of normalization protocols with Turkey.
"As we've stated many times before, we are committed to the protocols,
to the word and spirit of the protocols and to their implementation,"
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a joint press
conference here with his New Zealand counterpart John Key, who is on a
visit to the Turkish capital Ankara.
His comments came in response to a decision earlier Thursday by the
Armenian ruling coalition of three parties in the parliament to freeze
the ratification of protocols signed by the two countries last October
to normalize relations and open long-sealed borders.
"It is up to them how they would handle the ratification process. I am
not in the position to tell them what to say," Erdogan told reporters.
In Thursday's statement, the Armenian ruling coalition said the
Turkish stance of linking the normalization process with the solution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was "unacceptable."
The ratification of the protocols would be removed from the agenda of
the parliament until the Turkish side displays the readiness to
continue the normalization process without preconditions, said the
statement.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or economic ties since
Armenia declared independence in 1991. Turkey closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan, which had a territorial
conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Ankara said the border could be opened only after the withdrawal of
Armenian troops from the disputed land.
The protocols Turkey and Armenia signed to normalize relations need to
be approved by both countries' parliaments before taking effect, but
progress on the ratification has been slow.
Apart from the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Turkey and Armenia have also
been bogged down in a row over the World War I-era killings of
Armenians under Ottoman rule, which Armenia says was a genocide while
Turkey denies that charge and insists the Armenians were victims of
widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the 600- year-old
Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was born in 1923.
April 22, 2010 Thursday 1:16 AM EST
Turkey says committed to normalization despite Armenia setback
ANKARA April 22
Turkey on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to efforts to reconcile
with its neighbor Armenia despite a decision by Armenia to suspend the
ratification of normalization protocols with Turkey.
"As we've stated many times before, we are committed to the protocols,
to the word and spirit of the protocols and to their implementation,"
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a joint press
conference here with his New Zealand counterpart John Key, who is on a
visit to the Turkish capital Ankara.
His comments came in response to a decision earlier Thursday by the
Armenian ruling coalition of three parties in the parliament to freeze
the ratification of protocols signed by the two countries last October
to normalize relations and open long-sealed borders.
"It is up to them how they would handle the ratification process. I am
not in the position to tell them what to say," Erdogan told reporters.
In Thursday's statement, the Armenian ruling coalition said the
Turkish stance of linking the normalization process with the solution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was "unacceptable."
The ratification of the protocols would be removed from the agenda of
the parliament until the Turkish side displays the readiness to
continue the normalization process without preconditions, said the
statement.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or economic ties since
Armenia declared independence in 1991. Turkey closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan, which had a territorial
conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Ankara said the border could be opened only after the withdrawal of
Armenian troops from the disputed land.
The protocols Turkey and Armenia signed to normalize relations need to
be approved by both countries' parliaments before taking effect, but
progress on the ratification has been slow.
Apart from the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Turkey and Armenia have also
been bogged down in a row over the World War I-era killings of
Armenians under Ottoman rule, which Armenia says was a genocide while
Turkey denies that charge and insists the Armenians were victims of
widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the 600- year-old
Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was born in 1923.